Embraced by Fire Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Praise for Louise Delamore and…

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Embraced by Fire

  by

  Louise Delamore

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Embraced by Fire

  COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Louise Delamore

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Debbie Taylor

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Faery Rose Edition, 2014

  Print ISBN 978-1-62830-064-2

  Digital ISBN 978-1-62830-065-9

  Published in the United States of America

  Praise for Louise Delamore and…

  HUMAN WITH A TWIST

  “I would call the entire book a seduction…Louise Delamore writes a beautiful seductive mystery that was a pleasure to read.”

  ~Bitten by Books

  “The hero intrigued me the moment he appeared in the book. Well paced suspense kept me reading until the end.”

  ~Siren Book Reviews

  “HUMAN WITH A TWIST disregards conventional Vampyre myths and makes a daring attempt at something new. Louise Delamore invites you into a world full of danger, intrigue, and a little romance.”

  ~Happily Ever After Reviews

  ~*~

  REDEMPTION’S KISS

  “Author Louise Delamore knows how to create a sensual scene, filled with a delightful sense of expectancy.”

  ~Nights and Weekends

  ~*~

  “REDEMPTION’S KISS is a touching story with realistic and passionate characters that can easily be enjoyed in one sitting. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good paranormal romance.”

  ~Long and Short Reviews

  “I started reading it and I couldn’t stop until I knew what would happen between the two main characters.”

  ~The Romance Studio

  Dedication

  To Simon M

  sometimes One Simple Thing can make a difference

  ~

  and as always,

  to Paul

  Chapter 1

  Today was just like yesterday, and like yesterday’s yesterday. Kait sighed, depressed despite the sunshine. Lately all her days ran seamlessly together. The only place anything exciting happened was in her dreams. Work, where she was mindlessly headed, was nothing like those dreams.

  At least she had Rachael to break the monotony. With that in mind, she dragged her attention back to the passionate words rushing from her friend. Rachel wasn’t always the easiest of friends, bitchiness sometimes her dominant trait, but when the chips were down Kait knew Rach was a friend she could count on.

  “And then he said—” Rachael stopped abruptly at the edge of the pavement, her diatribe cut off mid-sentence.

  “What now?” Kait was unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice as she stumbled, almost bumping into Rachael’s back.

  Instead of answering Rachel stood staring across the road, her eyes narrowed, two fingers pressed against her lips. Kait reluctantly followed her friend’s gaze.

  The street was empty except for a man on the other side. He was leaning against the wall of their building smoking, one leg bent so his booted foot rested against the brickwork. A black gym bag lay on the ground beside him.

  “What now?” Kait asked again, hoping to get Rachel moving. They both had work they needed to get back to and no time to ogle.

  “Look,” Rachael’s voice was little more than a whisper.

  Kait turned to look at the man more closely, a sigh floating against the edge of her lips. If this turned out to be nothing more than a melodramatic reaction of Rachael’s to seeing her latest boyfriend, Kait would be extremely peeved.

  On the other hand, maybe Rachel wasn’t being a drama queen. Even from this distance the man called to something deep within her. Her forehead puckered as she stared at the man relaxing in the bright summer sun.

  Habit had her breaking down the image the same way she would a performance, searching for errors. Tall and athletic, the man’s faded jeans hugged muscular thighs, and the black t-shirt he wore pulled taught over broad shoulders. Short, dark hair ruffled in the breeze, and even darker shades hid his eyes. Rich caramel skin, a well-defined jaw, and sharp cheekbones finished a picture that would have sold to GQ if a photographer had been around to capture it.

  Absolutely no errors.

  He lifted a cigarette to his lips. Okay, he smoked—no one was perfect.

  “Hoo-mama.” Rachael waved imaginary steam away from her face, her eyes glinting wickedly as she glanced at Kait.

  Kait reached over and pretended to straighten the strap on Rachael’s dress. If they stood watching him much longer without an excuse he would notice and, personally, she didn’t want to be caught staring. Rachael picked up her cue and pointed at her shoulder as if something was wrong. In reality, both girls slid their gazes across the road.

  “A performer looking for work?” As events co-ordinator for Fantasia Alive, Kait saw a lot of amazing things.

  Although she’d never seen anything like him, especially not on the street, in the middle of the day, without an audience. He didn’t even need to do anything, he was remarkable simply to look at.

  Her lips twitched. She’d been hanging out with Rachel too long, clearly melodrama was catching. He was good-looking, true, but he was just a man. A man who was unlikely to give her a second glance. She needed to keep her impulses in check before the all too familiar disappointment bit her in the ass.

  “Mmmm, maybe I’ll hire him to perform for me personally,” Rachael said, a little too much relish in her voice for Kait’s liking.

  “I doubt that’s what he has in mind if he’s turned up for an audition,” Kait said tartly, although it wouldn’t surprise her if Rachael did just that. When it came to men, her friend wasn’t shy. “Maybe he’s not a performer, maybe he’s something else.”

  “He is certainly something else.” Rachael looked speculatively at him and licked her lips.

  Please let him be an accountant, Rachael doesn’t
like accountants. She’d never stand a chance if Rachael set her sights on him. Kait caught herself sharply. Was she seriously thinking about trying to compete with Rachael? She glanced at her blonde-bombshell friend out of the corner of her eye then back at the stranger behind the smoke, and gave herself a mental slap upside the head.

  Why was she doing this to herself again? It was hopeless—she was hopeless. Once guys got a look a Rachael’s baby-blues and thick handfuls of blonde hair they never noticed her. Secondly, she knew nothing about this man except he made her think things about a stranger she’d never thought before…sexy things.

  Nonetheless, just this once, she wished Rachael would butt out. Except Rachael had never ignored a good-looking man in her life. Kait looked down at the boring, navy-blue suit she’d chosen for a client meeting and wished she’d picked something different. Professional it might be, but the suit didn’t even blip the radar compared to Rachael’s floaty summer dress.

  Rachael shrugged Kait’s hand off her shoulder and turned. “I think he deserves closer investigation.” She flashed Kait a smile. “Have I got anything in my teeth?”

  “Leave him alone.” Oh, cripes, she’d said that out loud.

  Rachael bunched her hands on her hips and frowned. “I’ve given up cigarettes and now you expect me to deny myself men as well?”

  Kait tried to look casual. She didn’t want Rachael to suspect from how deep her denial had come. “Not all men, just this one. He’s smoking and you’re trying to quit, that’s a bad combination.”

  “Smoking hot, you mean.” Rachael licked her lips again.

  “If you don’t stop doing that you’re going to get chapped lips,” Kait snapped.

  “What’s your problem? You were fine at lunch, now your behaving like you’ve got too much starch in your seams.”

  “I’m fine. You’re the one who can’t keep her hands off every man she sees, like some kind of nymphomaniac.” Kait wished the words back, but it was too late.

  Rachael’s eyes widened in hurt, then narrowed dangerously. “You know what your problem is?” Rachael ran her gaze over Kait’s conservative suit. “You’re frigid. You need someone who’s willing to risk freezer burn to find your fire.”

  “I am not frigid.” I’m not, her fingers clenched. I might be inexperienced but I’m not frigid.

  She didn’t want to dole her body out willy-nilly, so what? She wanted to wait until she knew the guy loved her. Love. Who knew finding it was so difficult?

  She didn’t need a wedding ring, but she wanted more than the drink and nice dinner, which seemed to be Rachael’s threshold. Of course, finding her own threshold was tricky because as soon as her boyfriends met Rachael, they stopped being her boyfriends. She loved Rach, but she hated the way men reacted like they’d seen the grail.

  Rachael ignored her denial. “How many men have I introduced you to since we became friends? Ten, twenty, fifty…? They’ve been interested but you just look away, revelling in your ice-princess persona.”

  Irritation bit deep, pushing away the last of Kait’s regret over her nymphomaniac comment. “I’m not an ice-princess. You only introduce them to me because you don’t want them anymore.”

  “So what? I know they’re nice. I don’t introduce you to the nasty ones.”

  She forced her teeth not to grit. “I can find my own boyfriends.”

  Thank goodness Rachael didn’t know exactly how inexperienced she was or this conversation would be even worse.

  “No, you can’t, the ones you find aren’t any good.” Rachael sighed and her expression softened. Kait wondered what her own face revealed because Rachael added, “Sorry about the frigid comment, I didn’t mean it. I’ll help you find someone.”

  “I’m sorry, too. You’re hardly a nympho.” She forced herself to smile, after all she’d started the nastiness. What on earth had got into her? She marshalled her thoughts and tried to find something light-hearted to say. “You’re right I do need you. Right now I need you back at work practicing your routine for Saturday.”

  Kait gave Rachael’s shoulder a pat, then hurried across the road toward their building, Rachael’s high heels clicking rapidly on the tarmac behind her. The man leaning against the wall lifted his cigarette and all thoughts of Rachael vanished. There was something about him that pushed all rational thought from her mind. A few more steps and she’d be close enough to touch him, if she dared.

  Unable to take her eyes off him, she watched a gentle stream of smoke pour out his perfect lips.

  Wait…that was peculiar.

  She blinked. His cigarette didn’t look lit. How could there be smoke without fire?

  ****

  Ryu watched the two women on the other side of the road speculatively. The blonde looked athletic enough to be a performer for Fantasia Alive, her short dress and heels revealing lean shapely legs. However, despite the blonde’s alluring legs, it was the redhead in the blocky suit who caught his eye.

  It was her hair. He’d never seen hair that reminded him so much of the rich glow of a banked fire. It was all he could do to stop himself walking over there and running his fingers through it. She also looked vaguely familiar. He searched his memory, surely he wouldn’t have forgotten that hair.

  The redhead finished messing around with the blonde’s dress and, after a brief argument, they began walking toward him. He watched the sway of their hips as they walked and felt a trickle of smoke escape his lips. He quickly lifted his cigarette to disguise the response even as he banked his internal fires. Most people would freak out if they discovered shapeshifters were real, let alone shapeshifting dragons.

  His people resided in fiction as far as most of the world was concerned. However, he wasn’t fictional and the way his body was reacting to the redhead reminded him exactly how un-fictional.

  There were always a few non-shifters who knew the truth, but he very much doubted these two women were in that select group. He mentally winced at the thought of the chaos that would erupt if people ever found out about the dragon who shared his skin.

  Pushing thoughts of his nature aside, he turned his attention back to the women. It was always a revelation to him how different women moved their hips. Some, like the blonde, had a deliberate gyration; they were aware of the power of their sexuality and revelled in it. Others were no nonsense, stepping forward with barely a wiggle. Then there were women, like the redhead, who moved with an unconscious grace; the sway of their hips provocative simply because of its unintentional nature.

  He closed his eyes, thinking about what it would feel like to run his hands over her curves, through her hair. He hadn’t indulged in a fantasy like it for years and the spontaneity took him by surprise.

  “Can I help you?” A mellow, melodic voice broke into his thoughts.

  His eyes sprang open. Damn, he’d been caught daydreaming. Quickly straightening, he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. His boss would rake him over hot coals if he found out about this momentary inattention. The redhead with the melodic voice looked at him curiously, waiting for a reply.

  “Yeah, I wanted to speak to whoever does the hiring around here, but the receptionist told me she was out.”

  “You go on ahead, Rachael, I’ll talk to you later,” she said to the blonde a few steps behind her, then she turned back to him. “That would be me, Kait Jones.” She held out her hand.

  He opened his mouth to reply, but as he took her hand the words vanished. Heat arced between them as their fingers touched. What the hell? He gave her hand a quick shake then let it go, not wanting to dwell on the sensations surging uncontrollably at the slight contact.

  He glanced at her face wondering if she felt it too. Her bright green eyes, looking back at him out of a slightly flushed face, were dilated and unfocused. She blinked rapidly and pulled herself together. She’d been quick to recover, but not quite quick enough to hide her reaction.

  “Come on, we can talk in my office.” She pushed open the heavy, metal door, embossed wi
th the words “Fantasia Alive” and walked through.

  Ryu disposed of his cigarette, tucked his sunglasses into a side pocket of his bag, and followed her through the tastefully decorated reception area and into the main part of the building. The inside was a converted warehouse, the centre split into practice areas for performers. As they walked around the edge of the main space toward the offices lining the walls, he found himself once again watching the enticing sway of her hips. Damn fine.

  “My office is through here,” she said over her shoulder.

  He quickly dragged his eyes upwards, hoping she hadn’t caught him staring. Not a good first impression to be making. Well, second impression, his first was daydreaming against the wall outside. He sighed, not a good start. Anyone who knew him would be shocked.

  He was an excellent agent and renowned for his focus. He wasn’t as emotionally distant as some agents he knew, however much he wished that were the case, but he had the ability to push away distractions. He wished he could find his focus now.

  He followed her into her office, closing the door behind him as she walked to the far side of her desk.

  “I’m Kait Jones.” She shrugged off her jacket. “I forgot to introduce myself outside.”

  She hadn’t, but he didn’t correct her, distracted by the body revealed as she removed her jacket. After the tantalising swell of her hips he should have expected her jacket to be hiding curves, but he hadn’t. He felt his eyes start to shift. He blinked quickly, forcing his eyes to return to normal.

  She hung her jacket over the back of her chair and sat down, gesturing for him to take the guest chair. He looked around the office curiously as he sat, better than thinking about what she would look like if she removed the rest of her clothes. The office was painfully neat and tidy, but then given the size of it she probably didn’t have a lot of choice.